Let me tell you about the most recent rabbit hole social media provided me to fall down. Three words, social media thrifting. We all know thrifting is the most trendy, quirky, and affordable way to save the planet. Fast fashion has popped up on the majority of Gen Z’s radars as another corporate evil that needs to be ended. Along with environmental concerns of the traditional shopping experience, recent Tik Tok and influencer trends are sending thousands to their local Goodwills in hopes of finding the perfect vintage piece. Popular “fits” are popping up from every decade over the past 60 years, ranging anywhere from 70’s cardigans to Y2K baby tees and 90’s grunge flannels. The perfect place to get all of these pieces for a low price (plus shipping) is on your favorite social media app. So, if you’re as obsessed with getting the trendiest, affordable, serotonin introducing shopping experience as I am, while supporting small-women run businesses, let me tell you about the secret world of social media thrifting!
The Discovery
I came across the magical community of Instagram/Tik Tok thrifting from a friend of mine who started a thrifting account of her own. I thought about how cool it was that she was doing the hard work of sifting through thousands of garments and then simply posting, selling, and shipping it to her followers! I followed her page, but never bought anything because our styles didn’t line up. I was bummed because I wanted to support her small business, but didn’t want to buy something I did not like/want. I kept up with her posts still, waiting for a piece I liked to surface when I noticed a bunch of accounts commenting on her posts, complimenting her page, they were other thrifting accounts! I then realized that there were thousands of other thrifting accounts with many that did fit my style! I was amazed at the amount of support, encouragement, and kindness I was seeing while skimming through the hundreds of feeds looking for pages to follow. I remember thinking, “Wow, these women all really want each other to succeed.” It was so refreshing to see social media being used as an uplifting tool once again!
The Magic
After following several pages for months now, I think I fully understand this amazing community, it’s members, and why I find it so magical. Women of any age are welcomed into the thrifting community; several of the accounts I came across, I later found out, are run by 13/14 year olds, while others are by women who are in their 30’s. I saw no hate, drama, or beef between any accounts, only positivity and encouragement. It’s common for pages to post SFS’s (shoutout for shoutout) on their stories to help build the community and increase each other’s follower counts. It’s also common to see pages of all follower sizes do live sales on Instagram. In these live sales you really get the opportunity to connect with the owner of the page and ask questions about the clothes they are selling. Many times, two different pages will go live together to bring both their communities to the stream and to each other’s accounts. I truly feel like I get an accurate representation of the women who are behind the accounts and even build attachments to some of their personalities. It’s kind of crazy when I tune into a live to just hear about what my favorite thrift account owner was up to on her Monday night.
The real magic of social media thrifting doesn’t lay in the cute clothes that are constantly arriving on my doorstep, but in the community I have discovered and the opportunities it presents to so many. I see the friendships the women who run these accounts have made and how they are there for eachother in their small business struggles, mostly consisting of USPS not processing their packages correctly, but that’s tea for another blog. In all seriousness though, these women are amazing and you should support their small businesses if you can.
If I haven’t yet convinced you to check out the social media thrifting community, let me tell you about my gently worn Dr. Marten white boots I got for $60 bucks the other day, but I’ll spare you the dets for now. Seriously though, open your phone and search thrifting accounts ASAP! This community allows women of all ages and backgrounds to explore their passions, create a form of income, build amazing relationships, establish a platform, and build their own business from their home, in a time where so many opportunities are lacking. I may not run my own thrifting account (yet!), but I feel like a total girl boss by supporting so many women in their thrifting game, and all from the comfort of my own bed!